Let us help you make the right moves.

IES was the first company formed to assist independent schools in their search for teachers and leaders. Today, we bring affordable, professional quality retained search and trusted advisor services to schools and non-profits.

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Executive Search

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School Culture

New Schools & Mergers

Engagement & Retention

Join Dr. Conway for his upcoming NAES Webinar - Measuring the Health of School Culture: The Power of Engagement. The session will take placeon Tuesday, January 23 at 2 pm. This webinar is ideal for heads of school, trustees, admissions professionals, and other senior administrators. It is open to all, and free for NAES member schools.

When a school faces a leadership transition, it may seem that the Board must choose between big search companies with expensive price tags and multiple “off limits” conflicts or a smaller, more affordable boutique search firm that may have limited resources.

IES offers the best of both worlds.

IES partners with Diversified Search, one of the top commercial search firms with offices throughout the USA. Our partnership provides a consultant with deep experience in school leadership and personalized search expertise with the reach and research capabilities of a large executive search firm. Providing a diverse candidate pool that includes non-traditional candidates is one of the benefits of this partnership to the client.

A trusted adviser can assist and support both the Head and the Board in the following areas:

► Executive Coaching► Strategic priorities retreats► Best Practices► Evaluation of the Head of School► New Board Member Orientation

Understanding what current parents and faculty think about how they and the students are treated can give critical insight into the current state of the school’s culture. The degree of positive engagement of both faculty and parents is a key factor in enrollment management and in fostering a culture of philanthropy.

The IES Parent and Faculty Engagement Surveys, which have been specifically designed for independent schools, give objective data on the health of the workplace as well how closely current parents feel connected to school and its mission.

The independent school marketplace is changing. Demographic shifts and population changes sometimes require schools to consider changes, such as a merger. Sometimes these same market forces offer opportunities for new schools to be founded.

IES offers comprehensive consultation that helps a school assess its position in the marketplace. Our experience with school mergers also can provide hard data for looking at alternatives. IES will become a Board’s partner when new opportunities and challenges require innovative thinking.

High enrollment attrition is a negative force on financial sustainability. Average NAIS attrition is over 10%. Research shows that there is a direct link between the level of employee and current parent engagement and attrition.

But most schools use only anecdotal evidence to measure engagement and may miss the real reasons for attrition. IES has developed an engagement survey specifically for independent schools that can give objective data about adult engagement and that can suggest ways to improve student retention.